Physics in the animal world: the toucan and its beak

Even those people who are not at all orientated in the species of birds, and do not know what bird looks like, can easily recognize the representative of the Tukanov family . Toucans live in the plain and mountain tropical forests of North and South America, usually in the hollows of trees. Most birds of this family have a disproportionately large beak. It is usually very brightly colored.

The beak toukanovyh reaches about half the length of the body of the bird. This “tool” looks very heavy and inconvenient, but in reality it is not. Inside the huge beak there are many pneumatic cavities, so it is light. But the beak of the toucan is not only light, but also very strong. This real miracle of nature, one of the best engineering "projects" in the animal world.

Such a beak looks even a little threatening. But the bird itself does not pose any threat to anyone (except for the beast that attacked the chicks). Toucans are herbivorous birds that feed on berries and fruits. A large beak is needed by a toucan in order to pluck the fruits from thin branches that the weight of the bird cannot bear. Thanks to the long beak, the toucan can reach the fruit, which hangs inaccessible far to most other herbivorous birds. Toucans are engaged in the fact that they are thrown berries - and here a large and tenacious beak comes in handy.
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To make the fruit easier to hold and open, notches are located at the end of the beak. Helps in this "work" and a long and sticky language. A number of experts believe that the big and bright beak of a toucan helps it to find relatives, declaring its own presence.

When a person sees a toucan, most often the question arises of how this bird sleeps. How can you sleep with such a beak? The answer is simple. Resting bird in the deep hollow, I will throw the beak on his back. He fits there perfectly. The tail is folded over the chest, and a large toucan is transformed into a medium-sized feathered ball.

Beak design

As mentioned above, the beak of a toucan is not at all as heavy as it might seem. The bill is very durable, but it is made of lightweight material with a large number of pneumatic cavities. Not only ornithologists, but also scientists of other specialties, for example, materials scientists, are studying the beak of a toucan. Best of all, the beak was studied by Marc A. Meyers, a materials science specialist at the University of California.

He found that the top of the beak consists of bone tissue and membranes. Something similar could be created from the foam, which can quickly freeze. This bone "foam" is located between the outer layers of keratin. This substance, for example, is part of our nails. The “foamy” structure of the toucan beak ensures its strength and lightness. The outer layer of bone tissue is a collection of a large number of layers of small hexagonal tiles. The width of the tile is about 50 microns, and the thickness is about 1 micron. Bone material is closed on top of keratin scales, fastened together.


The surface of the beak of a toucan is covered with several layers of keratin plates.

Materials scientist Mark Meyers conducted a computer simulation, and found out that the design of the toucan beak is almost perfect. “It’s as if the toucan had a deep knowledge of engineering,” says Myers. “The big surprise is that the two-layer structure of the beak creates a system for absorbing high-impact impact energy.” The structure of the beak is a bit like the internal structure of human bones. But in the bones there is no “bone foam” that is in the bird's beak.



Recently it also became clear that the beak of a toucan helps a bird to regulate its body temperature. It operates on the principle of a car radiator. When it gets hot, the toucan's beak heats up very quickly, taking on body heat. Excessive heat energy is then dissipated in the air.

In the beak toucans a large number of blood vessels. Using a special mechanism, the bird can increase or limit the flow of blood. As a result, in heat the bird's body cools, and when it gets cold, body heat is preserved.


Having studied the structural features of the beak of the toucans, the specialists began to develop durable and light materials with a structure similar to the structure of the beak of the toucan. Such materials can be successfully applied in industry. For example, to make an effective and reliable bumper for a car or a light and strong part for an aircraft.

The study of the structure features of the beak of the toucans is still ongoing. And who knows, maybe scientists will be able to reveal more than one secret of this wonderful tool.